The time has come to give meaning to the Olympic value of the truce that leads to peace

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The message of the 7th Route of Truce 50 km, from Ancient Ilida to Ancient Olympia

A “bridge” between the ancient and the modern, and an effort to highlight the Olympic value of the Truce—which is a prerequisite for peace—is the 50-kilometer “Route of Truce”, walked by hundreds of runners from Ancient Ilida, the city that hosted the Olympic Games in antiquity, to Ancient Olympia, the place where the Olympic Games were held and today a symbol of global sport and culture.

In this year’s 7th Route of Truce, held on Sunday, May 15, 450 runners took part, led by the legend—ultramarathon runner Mr. Giannis Kouros.

Official delegations from CISM (International Military Sports Council) participated from five countries (Greece, Lithuania, Hungary, Palestine and Saudi Arabia), while runners also took part from Ukraine, Afghanistan, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Austria, Canada, Italy, England, Venezuela, Serbia, Albania and Spain.

The organizer of the Route of Truce is the Federation of Olympia, with co-organizers the Supreme Council for Sports of the Armed Forces (ASAED), the Region of Western Greece and the Municipalities of Ilida, Pyrgos and Ancient Olympia.

The Route of Truce does not have a competitive character. It is a route that essentially sends a message, highlighting that Olympic Value which leads to peace and fellowship among peoples: the Truce.

The start was at 6:00 a.m. and the runners passed through the 13 villages to Ancient Olympia, where around 16:00 the finish and the award ceremony took place, with special numbered medals presented to all runners who finished. Medals were awarded by SYRIZA Member of Parliament Mr. Dionysis Kalamatianos, the Deputy Mayors of Olympia Mr. Dim. Kostarias and of Pyrgos Mr. Giannis Argyropoulos, and the world champions in TAE KWON DO Maria Karpathaki and in Weightlifting Maria Christoforidi.

The runners passed through the villages of Dafni, Keramidia, Dafniotissa, Peristeri, Cheimadio, Sop, Karatoula, Magoula, Latzoi, Herakleia, Pournari, Pelopio, Platanos and finished in Ancient Olympia. Local associations, residents and children from the Municipal Districts where the runners stopped once again demonstrated their hospitality by offering local delicacies to the runners.

The events within the framework of the 7th “Route of Truce” began on the morning of May 14 with “The Route of Kleosthenis”. This is a competitive 5 km race from Ancient Pisa to Ancient Olympia. It is recalled that Kleosthenis, King of Pisa, was, according to tradition, the third of the Kings of antiquity—together with the King of Ilida, Ifitos, and the King of Sparta, Lycurgus—who signed the Sacred Truce.

In The Route of Kleosthenis, the top men were: Marinos Tsoukas, Nikos Stathakopoulos and Vasilis Vasileiou. And the top women were Maria Panagiotou, Evgenia Tzevelekou and Ioanna Bousdoukou.

You can find the full results and times on our facebook page: https://web.facebook.com/routeoftruce

On Saturday afternoon, the Route of Ifitos took place in Ilida. A competitive 2 km race from the village of Ilida to the Old Museum of the area, for children in 5th and 6th grade of primary school and in middle school.

In the “Route of Ifitos”, the winners were:

  • Winner of the children’s race Spyridon Panagiotis Zogopoulos
  • Winner of the girls’ children’s race Anthi Angelatou
  • Winner of the teenage race Charalampos Chronopoulos
  • Winner of the girls’ teenage race Maria Antiochou

Afterwards, on the same day, the opening ceremony of the events took place, along with the awards for the young athletes.

At the event venue, works by young students from Ilia (from the art schools: the Art Workshop of Ms. Eleni Stathopoulou and Mr. Kristo Defrim Hasa) and from the Czech Republic (by students of the “Dana and Emil Zátopek” school in the city of Třinec, as well as from Athens) were exhibited, on the theme: “Evoi okypoda!” (“Well done, swift-footed!”), “From Koroibos to Emil Zátopek”, which was also the theme of the Route of Truce 2022 art exhibition held at the Athens War Museum on April 6.

Declaring the opening of the ceremony, the President of the Federation of Olympia, Ms. Sofia Hintziou Kontogianni, stressed that today more than ever it is an urgent necessity for all of us to redefine the universal values we inherited through the Ancient Olympic Games “and to speak our own ‘Olympikon agona sosasthai’, for the benefit of peoples and the global community. The fact that in this effort we have the CISM as an ally and ASAED as a co-organizer strengthens this effort. What remains is for it to become a matter of conscience for society as a whole. The Truce must not be absent from the Olympic Movement. After all, sport can unite different races, religions and ideologies, but it cannot by itself bring peace, nor can it pressure for a cessation of hostilities. However, it can be the best tool for promoting ideals that will highlight the importance and the need for world peace. The Olympic Truce does not concern only states, their leaders or politicians. It is a concept that concerns each and every one of us”.

The President of ASAED and Vice President of CISM for Europe, marathon runner Captain Spyros Andriopoulos, greeting the event, emphasized:

“The Route of Truce is the route that in ancient Greece, the ancient hoplites—athletes walked from here, from Ilida to Olympia, after first laying down their arms. You athletes, approximately 2,800 years later, are walking this exact same route in order to convey the message of truce, peace and friendship among the peoples of the world. This is the message we wish to send as the Greek delegation to CISM, and for this reason we support every year this effort of the Federation of Olympia, which began in 2016”.

The event was attended by MP for Ilia Ms. Dionysia Avgerinopoulou, who stressed the need to support the effort and the activities of the Federation of Olympia; the Deputy Governor for Sports – Olympism and Volunteering of the Region of Western Greece Mr. Dimitris Nikolakopoulos; as well as Lefteris Varouxis, ND candidate for the European Parliament, and the Director of the Czech Centre Athens, Ms. Lucie Kulligova.

Concluding the greetings, the heads of the five delegations were honored by the Vice President of CISM for Europe and Director of ASAED, Captain Spyros Andriopoulos, and the President of the Federation of Olympia, Ms. Sofia Hintziou Kontogianni, who offered them as a gift an olive branch by sculptor Mr. Angelos Panagiotidis.

Sweets were offered to those present by the Cultural Associations of Ilida and of Kalyvia Ilidas.

The event concluded in excellent spirits, with dancing and singing to the sounds of the local band Banda Morena.

Cooperating bodies in the Federation’s activities for the 7th Route of Truce were the International Olympic Truce Center and the Czech Centre Athens. The activities were supported by the Region of Attica and #BEACTIVE and were held under the auspices of the Ministries of National Defence, Culture and Sports (General Secretariat of Sports), Rural Development and Food, Tourism, of CISM, the Hellenic Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Academy, the Greek National Tourism Organisation (GNTO), ETHNOA, and the Union of Olympians. The activities of the Federation of Olympia also had the Technical Support of the Athens War Museum and media sponsors the Panhellenic Association of Sports Journalists (PSAT), ERT, ERT-3, Proto Programma, ERA SPOR, ERT Pyrgos, ATHINA 9.84, RunningNews.gr, OVImagazine, apopseis.gr, Greekteachers.

 

Warm thanks to: The Main Supporter of the events was Turbomed – Yiannis Paraskevopoulos s.a.; Official Supporters: AIGEAS AMKE, LOUX, DIRFYS, Avance Car Rental, nosti most, Hellenic Gyros, DOLE Hellas, Ethniki Asfalistiki; Suppliers–Supporters: Biolis, Agricultural Cooperative of Koryfi Ilia, Enosi Agroton Ilia IKE, FarGeco Hellas, KALOMOIRIS ILIVIGAL, Mercouri Estate.

The actions were supported on a volunteer basis by: the Volunteer Samaritans, Rescuers and Lifeguards Corps of the Regional Branch of Amaliada, E.O.PY.D., the Scouts of Ilioupoli, as well as all residents of the villages who highlighted in the best way the unique hospitality of Ilia.

For more photos from our activities, visit our Facebook page: https://web.facebook.com/routeoftruce